


Rain

by kronette



Series: Weather [1]
Category: Man From U.N.C.L.E.
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-14
Updated: 2012-12-14
Packaged: 2017-11-21 02:30:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/592447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kronette/pseuds/kronette
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was his favorite time of the year: when the days grew shorter and the nights colder. When he left U.N.C.L.E. headquarters at his usual time, the sun would already be setting low in the sky, ready to take its nightly dip below the horizon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rain

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted 1999 under my other pseud, Shelley Wright.

Rain. Even better, rain in the fall. The changing seasons were much less dramatic here in New York than in his homeland. The days remained hot but the nights cooled gradually until frost coated the windshields in the early morning. This late in October the air was crisp with the tang of wood-burning stoves and fireplaces. 

This was his favorite time of the year: when the days grew shorter and the nights colder. When he left U.N.C.L.E. headquarters at his usual time, the sun would already be setting low in the sky, ready to take its nightly dip below the horizon. 

Today it was overcast; large gray clouds creeping across the sky without a care in the world, waiting to dump their cargo on the population of New York. A few sprinkles had splattered against his window earlier that morning to tease him, but nothing since. He was getting restless. He did not feel like reading, nor did he turn on the radio. The silence taunted him as he waited. 

Other agents claimed he had the patience of a saint, but they had never seen him like this: energized and ready to go somewhere, to do something, to...

He shoved himself off the couch and went to the window to stare out over the city again. His eyes swept the colorful blobs below him, moving as one entity from one end of the street to the other. No umbrellas were visible, but his restlessness did not abate. Making his decision quickly, he contacted Headquarters while he put on his suit jacket. He didn't think Napoleon would care where he went, but he wanted someone to know where he was going in case he ran into trouble. Or trouble ran into him. But quite frankly, it was none of Headquarters' business where he went. He had earned this downtime and he intended to make full use of it, but his training refused to let him go without notification. 

He stared in stunned silence at his communicator pen. Napoleon had offered to go with him. He would have thought it a token offer, as Napoleon was acting CEO while Waverly was out of town. Just a kind word to humor his partner who loved freezing rain and cold and snow. But there was general interest in his voice. Perhaps a bit of longing as well. His partner should have had the same downtime, but his duties superceded any personal commitments. They both knew Napoleon could not leave U.N.C.L.E. today, but still his partner had made the offer out of friendship. Smiling softly, he thanked Napoleon, but said he wanted to be alone today. 

He had a brief thought of leaving his gun at home. A sad smile touched his lips as he slipped the pistol into his holster. His Special was a part of him, as surely as his arm, and he had not been without it since the day he joined U.N.C.L.E. Besides, it would be suicide to go out unarmed, regardless of how quiet THRUSH had been. He did his customary check of the apartment, then locked the door behind him. He did a quick survey of his car before he climbed inside and turned over the engine. 

He wasn't able to avoid midtown traffic, but he did move rather quickly through the mess, relatively speaking. He was outside the immediate city and into the surrounding suburbs within an hour. It was another two hours before he left most signs of civilization behind. He passed the occasional small town with soda parlor, garage and grocery store, but for the most part, he was finally outside the city. 

He slowed down and checked a well-worn map. He had marked a good path the last time he had gone exploring and felt a need to return there. There it was, hastily outlined in blue. He checked the roadside markers and did a U-turn. Two miles back, he spotted the little-used trail and parked his car in the bushes. 

It was colder than he realized. He took off his jacket and pulled on a thick knit sweater. He hesitated a moment, thinking of leaving his gun in the car. He had not been followed since he left his apartment, but habit cautioned him. He tucked the gun at the small of his back and started a brisk pace straight ahead through the trees. 

He followed the rustle of small creatures evacuating his immediate path. He shoved his hands into his pockets as his eyes absorbed the forest around him. The leaves had just started to turn; dark reds mixed with bright yellows and tawny oranges with an abundance of green pine to create a bright canopy above his head. The crunch of dried leaves under his feet sounded small in the vastness of the woods surrounding him. The air smelled thickly of pine this deep into the woods, and he filled his lungs with the sharpness. Just as he was starting to relax, a strange sound alerted his senses and he glanced around warily. The sound repeated, then something small and hard hit his head. 

Rain. 

He closed his eyes and tilted his face up. Cold drops splashed down, invigorating him. He stayed like that for an eternity, then he shook his head and started walking, listening to the patters on the leaves covering the ground. They sounded like fingertips dancing over the top of a drum, softly beating out a tuneless melody. Higher sounds as little drops hit; deeper as the larger drops made contact. The scent of wet earth assaulted his senses and he sneezed. 

He stepped carefully over a fallen log and a new sound drew his attention. A low roar. He placed the sound after a minute and a slow smile crossed his features. He calculated the direction and set a path to his left. Soon he came upon a small stream. Clear water bubbled merrily over rocks and other obstacles. He sat down on a relatively dry rock and relaxed. He peered upstream but couldn't see where the brook started. Downstream it curved to the left into a large clump of trees. It was peaceful here, something he didn't have a lot of in his line of work. 

He closed his eyes and let nature's sounds lull him into a rare sense of security. Out here, there were no surprises. Out here, there were no bad guys to be defeated. Out here... He sensed movement to his right and slowly turned his head. He opened one eye and spotted a deer coming out of the large clump of trees. It walked right up to the stream and dipped its head to take a drink. Obviously, the rain didn't bother it. It sipped calmly at the water, occasionally looking around for danger. When it had its fill, it turned and went back the way it came, leaving him alone once again. 

A cold wind blew through the forest, chilling him. He winced as he became aware of coldness seeping through his pants. His sweater was saturated with rain and it hung heavily from his shoulders. Common sense told him he needed dry clothes and a warm bed. But what his partner would call "the Russian part of him" recklessly wanted to remain. Common sense ruled his life, so he started making his way back to the car. At the edge of the woods he took a deep breath. He could smell snow in the air. Growing up in an area of the world that saw winter a good portion of the year, it became a way of life. He knew the value of predicting snowfall; it had saved his life once. His instincts said within three days and he never ignored his instincts: New York would experience its first snowfall of the year this week.

The temperature had dropped steadily during the day, and now his teeth chattered as he pulled off his sweater and warmed up the car. He returned to the city and his apartment, warmed himself a bowl of soup and went to bed. 

Napoleon caught up with him on his way into his office the next day. "I know how much you like the stuff...they're predicting the first snowfall tonight."

Illya just smiled.


End file.
